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Definition: x86 chip platform

A hardware platform comprising an x86-based CPU and companion chips (chipset, networking, graphics, etc.), which are the major semiconductor components in a PC. Intel was the first to create a chip platform with its Centrino brand in 2003, which was very successful.

Take Advantage of the Brand
The concept behind the chip platform is to encourage the chip maker's customers (the PC vendors) to take advantage of a heavily marketed brand. For example, in order to paste the Centrino logo on a laptop, a vendor had to use all the required chips from Intel. Prior to the Centrino and the chip platforms that followed, PC makers often used chipsets from a different manufacturer than the CPU. Intel coined the term "platformization" for this marketing tactic. See Centrino, ViiV, vPro, Turion and AMD LIVE!.